Faber-Castell 24-Colour Eco-Pencils Review

One of the more interesting trends and fashions over the last couple of years is a resurgence of adult colouring. Intricate colouring books that your average five year old would kill to have are hitting the bestseller lists on Amazon and to fill them in the other side of the equation – pencils – has become more important as well.

These Faber-Castell pencils are hexagonal and relatively thin with wood outside and lead core. They all have their colour name, the FSC and Eco Logos and Faber-Castell embossed on in a gold colour. They feel nice to hold and the colour they make covers well and is consistent.

Faber-Castell is a well known and respected name in art supplies and their eco-pencils have a good combination of art credentials as well as being somewhat eco-friendly. The pencils are FSC certified which translates to meaning the wood comes from a well-managed forest and the wood will be renewed.

The box is recyclable but not up to long-term use – you’ll need a pencil case or pot.

Product Information

Faber-Castell was founded in 1761 as writing instrument manufacturer and currently has over 700 staff and revenues of over 800 million Euros making a wide range of stationery products.

Design

Designed for use in a single location – I found that the leads snapped surprisingly easily.

Target age – children and adults

Optimized for ambidextrous use

The pencils are standard design with a hexagonal shape and medium thickness, which is not particularly ergonomic, however, it makes use of taskmaster grips possible, which is the gold standard of pencil grip accessibility.

Environment & People

The pencil’s wood is FSC certified and cardboard packing is recyclable, but the lead is standard. I’m not sure what else Faber-Castell could do to make them more eco-friendly.

Cost-Effective

The pencils are sold for £6 for 24 on Amazon. This is more expensive than cheap children’s pencils but is well in line with what I would expect for art supplies.

Specification

Verdict

Pencils are not a product I thought I’d ever review, but after a little research, I realized there is a surprising amount that goes into them. The Eco-Pencils score very well on two key metrics – the quality of colour and sustainable sourcing. They’re perhaps slightly more fragile than I would have expected and I managed to break on in half accidentally, but for careful users, this is not a problem. If you are looking for a decent set of colouring pencils with eco-credentials that won’t break the bank, these are a good choice. Recommended.

The review is based on the Faber-Castell 24-Colour Eco-Pencils. Click to read more about our eco icons and access icons used in this review. This article was first published on 29 March 2016.